Burgers May Actually Be Good For Your Health, Claims Beef Researcher

Great news for people who love a good burger (so pretty much everyone), it looks like there are actually health benefits to scoffing down delicious burgers.Doctor Stephen Smith from Texas A&M University spent time studying the diet of cattle and presented the findings of his study to cattle producers at the University’s beef conference, which sounds deliciously dull.Doctor Smith discovered that if beef is prepared properly and sourced from livestock fed a proper diet, it can contain elevated levels of oleic fatty acids – a healthy bunch of stuff found in olives.

Oleic fatty acids are believed to be the reason why olive oil can help to reduce blood pressure and are also thought to help lower cholesterol.Sure enough, when test subjects were fed the beef over five weeks they saw an increase in their good cholesterol while their bad cholesterol decreased.The more marbled the beef (the older it is, basically), the healthier it gets.

Of course, Doctor Smith does have links to the beef industry and apparently they’ve funded his previous studies, including this one, which was financed by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association – so take this with a pinch of salt.